Norman Maurer

(13 May 1926 - 23 November 1986, USA)

The Little Wise Guys: Sink or Swim (Daredevil Comics #74, May 1951)

Norman Maurer was the son-in-law of Moe Howard, one of the Three Stooges, an American comedy act. After working on Daredevil Comics and Boy Comics, he took on a series of 'Three Stooges' comic books. He got a deal with Jubilee Comics, where his childhood friend Joe Kubert had just become an editor. Maurer came up with an agreement with the Stooges, Moe, Larry and Curly Howard, about the copyrights and the series started in May, 1947. Maurer wrote, illustrated and edited the Stooges comics. The stories were adapted from actual Three Stooges comedies.

Case #1009 (Boy Comics #10, June 1943)

In 1953, Maurer and Kubert invented the first 3-D comics with St. John Publishing, which also featured the Stooges. In later years, Maurer became the manager of the Three Stooges, and he wrote, produced and directed their feature-length films. Later on, he returned to the comic, when it was published by Gold Key. This time, the strip was called 'The Little Stooges', who were introduced as the "wild, wacky sons of the Three Stooges'. Maurer became a story editor and writer for Hanna-Barbera in 1975 and later became a cartoon consultant for CBS television.